Product Vs. Promotion: Alicia Keys – ‘In Common’

The ‘Girl On Fire’ – whose first three albums consecutively topped the Billboard 200 and her fourth, ‘The Element of Freedom,’ delivered fair numbers in comparison – was no longer burning up the charts in means fans had become accustomed to. In fact, some 12 years after her commercially and critically acclaimed debut ‘Songs in A Minor’ (2000), the ivory tickling diva didn’t exactly find much to laugh about when her fifth album, ‘Fire,’ crashed and burned after making a #1 debut to the first week sum of 159,000 – almost a third of what ‘Freedom’s first week declared just three years prior

Taking a period to cool off to focus on philanthropy and family (see: giving birth to her second child in late 2014), the singer/songwriter continued to tease new music throughout the downtime – even promising fans something they “wouldn’t expect.”

That promise was finally manifested in May 2016 thanks to ‘In Common’…

‘Common’ – a Soca/Dancehall-tinged tune – came as quite the sonic departure for the piano playing performer given her track record for kicking off projects with numbers of slower tempo. And, if the initial critical reception was anything to go by, the risk not only paid off, but Keys was quickly on the comeback trail to prominence. Instrumentally, the bass-buoyed bop got a “thumbs up” for being a standout from Keys’ catalog as well as the sound dominating today’s radio. Elsewhere, ‘Common’s vocal arrangement also earned a nod from listeners who’d grown weary of the Grammy winner’s tendency to strain or yell through recorded and live performances.

Yet, while an overwhelming number seemed to have positive reviews “in common” in response to Keys’ crack at a comeback, to date the tune hasn’t exactly been able to mirror that reception commercially. Getting its official live TV launch via ‘SNL,’ ‘Common’ has since been performed to a world stage on the year’s UEFA Champions League Final and taken to the 2016 BET Awards in an unconventional showing that saw the singer play several instruments at once while singing the song. Despite the multi-tasking maestra’s moving live attempts to hoist the song up the Hot 100, apparently viewers were none-to-impressed. For, as of time reporting, it has peaked at the top of the bottom (see: Bubbling Under Charts).

To ‘Common’s credit, her team has only afforded it a “soft launch,” meaning it has not been made widely available to every applicable radio format. An understandable move given the amount of dollars pumped into the star’s last project, ‘Fire,’ which undoubtedly did not yield the anticipated return. To play it safe, her label home has shipped the song solely to rhythmic and R&B radio and, as peruse of related charts reveals, its performance on Billboard’s R&B charts to date clearly indicates a strong level of interest. However, its iTunes and streaming figures – especially for an artist of Alicia’s magnitude – are singing a different tune.

Simply put: where is ‘In Common’ incorrect? Have Keys and co. been choosing the wrong outlets and arenas to promote the song or is it simply a big misstep by itself? In other words…

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UghhhhJuly 26, 2016

That song was a hit. She promoted it well and the product was great. It’s the digital aged millennials. For one they don’t know good music, two they are able to consume way to much music at once and three they sleep on artistry. They like catchy bullshît that they can thot too.

I agree. I think her mistake was trying to be all earthy with the multi instrument playing, but instead she should’ve stuck with the original production and put more effort into the video and stage performances.

If Keys had learned some steps, got a few dancer and put on a visual with maybe some african drummer and steel pan layers to mix it up a bit this would’ve been better to watch at least

Although it sounded like a remake of Drake’s Take Care, I have thoroughly loved In Common. I love the message and the vibes that it gives off. When it comes to the problem of its success, it has absolutely nothing to do with the product or the promotion rather the socio-political climate of this country. At the current moment, there are only two artists who get regular spins on Top 40 radio, so it’s difficult for any artist of color. Furthermore as a Adele has become the great white hope for the music industry, Alicia’s place in the mainstream music scene has been replaced. The only thing for Alicia to do is realize that a part of her career is over and now operate like a true legend does. As the new material has a similar sound, I would love to see her do a jazz album, and to further perform for dignitaries around the world.

Cops Give A Damn About A Negro. Pull A Trigger Kill A N**** He’s A Hero (Tyler)July 26, 2016

HOLD UP!
They snubbed Work!?? lol. Formation, a top 10 that wasn’t released until months after Bey’s SuperBowl performance, received a nom but Work didn’t. Despite the fact that it was #1…
Wow, the shade is too real

At this point in her career its not about having a number one singer or proving anything to anyone. She has a solid fan base that will buy her album once it releases as well as support her tour once she embarks on it no matter what music she has out now

TGJ was caught lying about Beyonce’s 11 VMA nominations. 😂 They weren’t even out yet. No wonder they deleted the Beyonce post. The bias is really appalling and speaks volume, thus the struggle AIexā ranking 🙃

Cops Give A Damn About A Negro. Pull A Trigger Kill A N**** He’s A Hero (Tyler)July 26, 2016

@Centurion
Are you stupid, simple, or slow?
Beyonce was in fact nominated for 11 VMA’s this year. You can look at all of the VMA nominees on MTV’s website.
Google is your friend. Its really not that hard

Alicia Keys can’t afford to shy too far away from an urban sound because her fanbase is mostly urban. The problem with that tho is she can’t sell records without pop radio which means she has to carefully balance urban music that is pop friendly. It’s going to be difficult for her because pop radio doesn’t play black r&b artists anymore and urban is dominated by rap. Her name still carries weight tho so she will probably get another Gold album even without any strong hits.

I think In Common is her best first single since You Dont Know My Name and deserved to be a hit…but people nowadays support trash or overrated singers so…
Btw she doesnt need a hit, she is still the best RnB female artist of her generation. She just need to release a great album.

It’s not even been 2 years since Alicia Keys dropped her last album, ‘Here,’ but since the critically acclaimed LP was widely ignored on the commercial front the 15-time Grammy winner is already teasing its follow-up.